The Integrity of a Courageous Confrontation, Part 1

Few of us enjoy confrontation we avoided postponing volunteer others to stand in our place. There comes a time when nothing is more important than exposing the truth matter how awkward that might feel today on Insight for living trucks. One dog recounts a story recorded in second Samuel 12. This passage describes the aftermath of King David's affair with Bathsheba.

David's attempt to keep this in a secret David succeeded until Nathan came along, Chuck titled today's message the integrity of a courageous confrontation revival today invite you to turn to second Samuel chapter 12 we began a story last week and those of the late Paul Harvey would put it.

Today we hear the rest of the story and it is a courageous account of a simple man who had a calling from God as a prophet to confront the key.

King David reading from the new living translation. You follow along all be reading the first 14 verses the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David the story. There were two men in a certain town. One was rich and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought.

He raised that little lamb, and he grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate, and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.

One day I just arrived at the home of the rich man, but instead of killing an animal from his own flock or heard.

He took the poor man's lamb and kill it and prepared it for his guest. David was furious surely as the Lord lives, he vowed any man who would do such a thing deserves to die, he must repay for lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.

Then Nathan said to David, you are that man the Lord, the God of Israel says I am anointed you king of Israel and save you from the power of Saul I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and Yvette had not been enough.

I would have given you much much more. Why then have you despise the word of the Lord done this horrible deed for you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the ammonites and stolen his wife from this time on your family will live by the sword, because you have despised me by taking Uriah's wife to be your own. This is what the Lord says because of what you have done, I will cause your own house to house hold to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel. Then David confessed to Nathan, I have send against the Lord. Nathan replied yes but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won't die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the Lord.

By doing this your child will die. Search the Scriptures.

Be sure to download his searching the scripture studies by going to inside world.org/study Chuck titled his message the integrity of a courageous confrontation. The prophets responsibility is not easy to fulfill. As one wag put it really a prophet only has two tasks. The first is to comfort the afflicted and the second to afflict the comfortable.

Now comforting the afflicted is a pleasure it calls for compassion and mercy. It is often requested. It is always appreciated afflicting the comfortable is a tough task. It's never requested.

It is sometimes even resisted and resented. But when God leads us to do it. He's pleased that we carry that out. They'll be careful here. Some I found in the Christian life are little too anxious to confront others. They feel as though they have the gift of confrontation. There is no such gift. There is without exception. We do it reluctantly and only out of obedience because in doing so we are moving into someone's private life. A repeat invited and often after a lengthy period of ignoring the wrong that is going on. I find that the Bible is a number of confrontations that are recorded Moses for example, went to Pharaoh again and again and confronted Pharaoh let God's people go let God's people go let God's people go.

Pharaoh didn't but she said it again.

He said it again plagues came more plagues. Finally, Pharaoh relented and let God's people go in there was an exodus out of Egypt and must've been a tough assignment for Moses, but he did it out of obedience because Pharaoh certainly didn't invited Samuel confronted Saul, the king or rushing ahead and doing what only a priest should have done at an altar. He reproved Saul and then told him the kingdom is been taken from you and will be given to another. Must've been a painful moment. King Saul to hear that stated in public for logic confronted Ahab for his wickedness and that of his wife Jezebel.

You remember that scene.

Even Jesus confronted Peter when Peter said to him you're going to be arrested. You're not going to go to some cross you're not going to die, get behind me Satan you thought of it confrontation said in front of the other disciples. Paul later confronted Peter for being a hypocrite. Eating one kind of food when he was with the Gentiles and another when he was with the Jews. Paul didn't mince words. Peter needed the confrontation.

Even John the one who often says love one another Road. It is a little one chapter letter forward. John, when I come, I will so many words confront diopter fees, who loves to have the preeminence. Putting these people out of the church and judging those people diopter fees needs to stop and take care of it. There is a statement in Proverbs that most of never heard its chapter 27 verse six faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful or the kisses of an enemy.

The Hebrew puts it in broader terms. Faithful are the bruises caused by the wounding of one who loves you confrontation as a way of bruising but those bruises linger and they are faithful. If we learn from the and remember they're coming from one who loves us we don't confront people we don't know we confront those we love and in the New Testament we read Galatians 61. If someone is overtaken in a fault here this you are spiritual, restore the other in the spirit of meekness, considering your own self, lest you also be tempted. I love the way that reads in the way it stated because there's tenderness and it and the goal is not simply to reprove its to restore is not simply to point out what's wrong is to bring the person to repentance, so there can be a restoration and a continuation of a healthy Christian life. All this brings us to the rest of the story and second Samuel 12 remember the story from last time. How could you ever forget David stacked one sin against another, because he failed to confess the first one is adultery with Bathsheba. He brought in Uriah deceitfully attempted to connect Uriah back with his wife Bessie Uriah was far more faithful and David he would leave and go to rezone a house. David got them drunk in hopes of getting in their so that it would look as though her pregnancy was caused by her husband Uriah never went because it wouldn't. David turned on one of the warriors of Israel heading killed in battle, put them at the front of the battle so that he may be killed.

Not only was Uriah killed, but other warriors as well. So there's murder and record and then months and months of hypocrisy the royal palace must've had whispers, but none of that move. David he was miserable to be sure, and by the way. During this time not one Psalm flows from David's. It's impossible to sing the Lord's home in a foreign land.

David's heart wasn't right and David in his miserable condition just stayed silent as the baby grew in Bathsheba's womb. Until God spoke to a prophet named Nathan. It begins rather innocuously in this chapter. This 12 chapter but it is worth noting. Nathan didn't go on his own no man would confront the king on his own. It is a great way to lose your life. Even though Nathan was a friend of the family.

It took the Lord to send him it's a good place to pause and say make sure if you feel you are to confront another that it is the Lord sending you always do it reluctantly. I would even add wouldn't hurt to do it with tears. The Lord sent Nathan and you will notice he sent Nathan to tell David the story. What an interesting statement. This 12 chapter begins with because there is something in every story or someone in every story and we can identify with, which makes every story interesting and this is no exception. Story is beautiful way to disarm another David is a classic example is flight of the sins and the callous followers is months of hypocrisy. David listens to the story as Nathan sits beside him.

There were two men in the city. One was rich and one was poor. One had plenty in the other only had his little family and one you lamb and the rich man had a guest come along and was time for dinner. That rich man, rather than taking one of his own flock from the flock. He took the poor man's one lamb is only little lamb he slaughtered it insert that is the feast for dinner that evening. I am convinced that they could visit through telling the whole story before David is curious he is furious there there be a man like that in my kingdom find him, he deserves to die.

But before we take his life. He needs to give that man for lambs from his flock, paying him back for to one. How dare he take advancing the lamb at that moment it was time for Nathan to speak and to borrow from their language. Eight. His call who you the man.

This literally. The Hebrew says you're the man you're the one who took the lamb in fact he goes on to describe what will happen as a result, broken, who knows what would David dropped to his knees that I don't know I sin against is an epochal movement in the narrative you read this and don't pause there. You love you miss a golden opportunity to identify that moment, all hypocrisy screeched to a halt. The story does the job but nothing else. I've always loved it. The late morning weirs bees description of the story. Listen story start off like pictures and then they become mirrors and then they become windows. First, there is slight as we see a slice of life in the picture.

And then there is insight as we see ourselves in the mirror and then there's vision as we look through the window of revelation and see the Lord is exactly what happens soon as David says I have sinned against the Lord. Nathan says you are forgiven. Lord David's anguish is from Petruchio he's ignored God was at work in the king's heart. What an excellent place for us to pause and look within. I invite you to do that with me in a simple illustration that came to me while preparing this awakening sermon on you to imagine yourself sitting behind the steering wheel in your car and I'm sitting beside you as the writer in the car. The driver of the writer were driving along looking through the windshield.

Of course, and occasionally glancing at the dashboard to see your speed and to glance over the gauges that are there and then all of a sudden, without any sound or red light appears on the dashboard is no siren.

There's no loud beep. There's no voice. This is stop over trouble under the hood just red light just a redline.

You have a choice you can you can either on your own pullover stop realize there's some kind of trouble under the hood.

You lift the hood and if you're like me you look at it rather blankly and get your phone to call for help if you don't mess with it as you need help from someone who understands engines like this that's what you do if you are a smart driver. However, if you're a dingbat while you're driving along the red light goes on. Keep driving you reach over the glove compartment and you pull out a little hammer. You keep it there for this reason because when it red light was off. There goes out just how you keep on driving for a while.

Smell something that you asked me you smell something.

I know you do. There's a little smoke that comes out around the little gap between your hood and the offender starts more and more and you notice the gauges called heat and shows boiling and you keep driving and car, splitters and before long the paint on your hood is beginning to crinkle and you see little shoots aflame coming out and you have ruined the engine. If not, other parts of the car all you needed to do was pullover stop and check it but you decided the best way to handle this is to put out the light. David's been driving for months did he confess when he got out of bed regressive.

Not a word. Did he confess when he brought Uriah into the Kings chamber, not a moment of confession did he confess when he said to Joab, put them on the front of the line and have killed till Joab one did he ever confess to his family saying I need to tell all of you what I have done. Sorry I am for it before the Lord, I give you my word. I'll do whatever is necessary to make this never just Right on driving came our way late in the program. This is insight for living right in the middle of a brand-new message from Chuck Swindoll called the integrity of a courageous confrontation and to learn more about today's topic, please visit us online@insightworld.org as we conclude another daily Bible message.

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